Armenian parliament votes down bill on police, NSS chiefs
The Armenian National Assembly voted down on Wednesday an opposition bill which would allow political appointees to head Armenia’s police and National Security Service.
Ahead of the vote, ruling My Step faction head Lilit Makunts said the parliament held heated debates on the draft law at Tuesday’s sitting.
She recalled that they passed the bill in the first reading in September to further study it and find the best options before it was given a second reading. However, she said, the study has revealed problems which don’t make it possible to adopt the measure in the second reading at the moment.
Makunts unveiled her faction’s intention to vote against the draft law.
The bill failed to be adopted in a vote of 89 against and only 19 for.
Armenian law requires the police and NSS chiefs to be senior officers. The amendments to the law on service in the national security bodies drafted by the opposition Bright Armenia faction propose to remove this requirement and define the same requirements that MP candidates must meet for candidates for the two posts.